Brush News

Locals hit stock show beef competition

Market beef show fun, but serious

Megan Griffith,? 17, Brush, walks her steer, Porky, around the arena during the market beef competition at the National Western Stock Show Thursday.
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Three Morgan County youngsters competed in the market beef show at the National Western Stock Show Thursday: Megan Griffith, 17, of Brush, Audrey Osier, 12, of Snyder and Kelsey Kalous, 11, of Fort Morgan.

Each girl seemed to be having fun but was also serious about competing.

That is not surprising, since they had spent many months getting ready for the show.

Griffith received her steer in March of last year -- and like other contestants -- had to work with the animal she named "Porky" every day, she said.

"I love 'Porky,'" Griffith said.

Even the day of the show she spent 1 1/2 hours grooming the steer to be ready for the show, and she groomed him just about every day before that. She also tied him up for a couple of hours every day to get him used to being confined, and took him for walks to get him used to the lead.

Audrey Osier, 12, Snyder, stands in line for the initial inspection of her steer, â Little Red,â ? by judges at the market beef competition at the National Western Stock Show Thursday.
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"Gain your cattle's trust," Griffith recommended for other kids. It is important to work with them every day and baby them.

"Porky" was relatively easy to handle for a steer, she said.

Griffith has participated in the 4-H program for eight years and won a grand champion title for a lamb and a reserve grand champion title for a steer at the most recent Morgan County Fair. She's shown steer her whole 4-H career.

This was her third year at the stock show, so she has some experience.

She said she was nervous but also excited about the market beef competition.

It is a serious investment to raise a steer. "Porky" ate 30 pounds of rations a day, and those who raise cattle must have space to do it. Only the top three market beef competitors in each class at the stock show get to auction their animals at the sale, so it is a risky investment.

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Of course, the competitors do get market price for their animals, which are taken away for slaughter after the show. That is done to prevent any potential diseases from spreading.

This year, 115 kids were in the competition, which were broken up into 10 classes.

That is about the largest number of cattle for many years, said Morgan County Extension Agent Marlin Eisenach.

Griffith won ninth place in her class but said she was just happy to be at the show.

Kelsey Kalous, 11, of Fort Morgan enters the arena during the market beef competition at the National Western Stock Show. Judges watch the contestants from the moment they enter the arena.
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Three judges each gave each steer a score, and those were averaged to make an overall score. The judges were watching carefully as each contestant entered the arena, then walked down the row when the cattle were lined up, sometimes touching the animals, and then watched as the contestants walked their steers around the arena.

Having three judges is unusual, and this is only the second year it has been done that way, Eisenach said. There are so many animals at the other livestock shows that this level of scrutiny would be too time-consuming.

Osier took 12th place in her class with "Little Red," who weighed in at 1,310 pounds. He was fed 18 pounds of grain, plus hay, each day.

Not all cattle at the National Western Stock Show are like the normal production cattle, This steer is an example of Highland cattle, characterized by the wooly coat.
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She also received her steer in March, and has been in 4-H for four years, she said.

Osier showed prospect cattle last year at the stock show, so she had a little experience, too. She said she felt she was doing a little better this year.

"Red" was a big teddy bear, she said. He was cooperative after he learned what he needed to do. He liked to be scratched.

Osier tried to wash and groom him three times a week. She worked with her calves after school and washed them if it was warm enough.

One advantage of the recent cool weather that was evident on the steers is that their coats grow longer and more lush.

Of course, the cold weather also meant they could not be washed as much, Osier noted.

Osier took first in class with a Jersey cow at the Morgan County Fair last summer and also took first in class I, the breeding beef competition. She also showed pigs. She also raises dairy cattle and sheep.

Osier has another steer she is grooming for the 2013 Morgan County Fair, and she expects to show another hog.

Kalous showed her steer, "Ed," which came out of the family herd and was born in March of 2011.

This was her first year at the stock show.

"It's been really good," Kalous said, although sometimes a bit overwhelming. She said she was a little nervous.

"Ed" was a little "ornery" at fist, but once she understood his personality and trained him accordingly, he got better.

"He's mellowed out," Kalous said.

She got up early to wash him and blow dry him each day during the summer, and continued the routine after school the last few months, she said.

Kalous took 13th in class at the stock show.

She also won third place with a lamb at the Morgan County Fair, showed a steer and had clothing projects. She won reserve champion in one clothing competition. She has been in 4-H for three years.

The market beef show is the culmination of the junior livestock portion of the stock show.